In this great article forwarded to me by YACer Mark Pan, the Christian Science Monitor explores the rise of gap years and tuition grants to help students fund service projects in college.  Many schools are initiating grant-matching programs for students that participate in service or have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 20 recently admitted Princetonians will delay academic work for a year to participate in university-funded service all across the world.

Don’t get us wrong. These are great. Service work complements academic work incredibly well, as we always say. But these aren’t the same as a Public Service Academy. For years, we’ve had scholarships and programs to encourage service, and while they are fantastic and eye-opening experiences, they don’t reach the level and commitment that would come from a Public Service Academy. Here, our students would spend every day for four years contemplating and learning, as well as practicing, public service. The entire college experience will involve service, not just one class or one year. And at the end of their four years, they’ll make an incredible commitment. Not a promise, or a goal, but a commitment. And the effects of that can be extraordinary.